The summer air was warm and breezy, the woman sitting at the top of the hill was shielded from the sun by the tree that to her, had always been a symbol of companionship. As she sat there taking in the beautiful weather, she ran her fingers through the blades of grass that shone immaculately green in the afternoon light. She closed her eyes, relishing the cool sensation against her soft skin.

"I thought I'd find you here." Came a voice from beside her.

His voice.

The voice that made her heart skip a beat every time she heard it's smooth affectionate tone.

Her deep brown eyes sparkled as she looked up into his dazzling blue ones.

"Daniel," she smiled. "I've missed you."

"I missed you too." He sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her, leaning in as the devoted couple shared a kiss.

"How's he doing?" Daniel asked, glancing downwards.

Regina followed his gaze and her eyes fell on a bundle in her arms. She felt herself smile as she looked at the baby, every bit the picture of perfection.

"Henry's wonderful."

Her eyes lingered on the baby as she cradled him carefully. After all, he was the most precious thing in the whole world to her.

"I'm sorry Regina." Daniel's voice said.

"Whatever for?" She glanced up at him, and her smile faltered as she felt a sudden uneasiness.

He wasn't looking at her anymore. Instead he was gazing off somewhere into the distance and the look on his face was unsettling.

"I can't stay. I can't help."

Regina's expression filled with worry. "Daniel you're scaring me. What are you talking about?"

"Someone's coming."

"Who?"

"I can't stay."

Regina made the mistake of casting her eyes around the countryside to search for whomever Daniel was talking about. She saw no one, but when she looked back at Daniel he had gone.

She found herself standing up, feeling the bark of the tree against her back. Giving the surrounding area another once-over, she saw a shadow in the distance. It was familiar... but she couldn't tell who it was.

It was coming steadily closer, and knowing that something was wrong, the brunette clutched the baby in her arms more protectively to her chest. But suddenly he felt different;

lighter...

fluffier?

She looked down and felt her heart sink. Her baby had disappeared, and in his place she was now holding a brown teddy bear. It was one she knew well; it belonged to her baby. But where was he?

Her eyes flicked back up towards the shadowy figure. It had stopped moving and she could now make out it's features. She knew who this person was. And she also knew that they were holding a tiny baby boy.

"No!"

She tried to go after them but it was as if her legs had suddenly stopped working. The bear in her arms was becoming increasingly heavier and it was taking most of her strength just to keep a hold of it.

The surrounding hills had started to become foggy and dark, and Regina could barely see neither the figure nor her son any more. Currently the stranger was turning around and making their way back to wherever they had come from, and was taking her baby with them.

Soon the person had disappeared, and all Regina had been able to see of them was a flash of red and a swish of long blonde hair.

Devastated, Regina felt herself collapse to the ground.

Strangely, even though they were clearly gone, Regina was beginning to hear the baby crying now even though she was sure he hadn't been crying only a moment ago. The noise grew steadily louder as her surroundings quickly became more and more blurry. She was trying to move, trying to force herself to stand up and go after her baby, but it was as if her own body was preventing her from doing so.

The crying had eased into murmuring now, and the sound became different, more like the voice of a child much older than an infant. But all she could hear was mumbling.

Suddenly darkness engulfed her and she felt a burning pain in her torso.

Something grabbed her arm and the voice became clearer.

"Mommy..." It said.

"Mom."

"Mooom." The voice was insistent.

"Mom wake up."

Was the first thing Regina heard as she began to regain consciousness. Everything felt so heavy. She kept her eyes shut tight against the bright lights that she knew would blind her if she opened her eyes too soon.

"Henry why don't we leave her alone for now. She's recovering, she needs her rest. It's probably not a good idea to wake her."

"But we came all this way."

"She's not going anywhere." The second voice replied softly. "We can talk to her later. Just let her sleep."

"But I want to talk to her now..." The first voice trembled.

"I know." The other voice was sympathetic. "But she's been through a lot today, let's just sit here for a while and maybe..."

"Henry?" Regina's voice croaked. Her brow furrowed but her eyes remained closed.

"Emma she's waking up!"

Regina felt the mattress shift as a weight pressed down beside her. She heard a scuff of boots and a jangle of keys from somewhere across the room.

"Mom, it's me. We're back."

"Henry..." she whispered. She swallowed with a bit of difficulty, her throat was dry and she felt as if her insides were trying to tear themselves apart.

Her eyes slowly blinked open, having a hard time adjusting to the florescent lights in the room. How was it possible that she felt worse than before?

"Yeah, it's me." Henry said.

His face came swimming into view, his young features creased with worry. She could feel his hand resting on her forearm, however it wasn't a crushing grip like in the dream. It was soft and caring.

"I... I'm..." She attempted.

Swallowing again, she scrunched her eyes shut. When she opened them again he was still watching her.

Emotionally, her lips trembled slightly at the sight of him, and she felt a teardrop threaten to fall from the corner of her eye. She took a deep, shaky breath, as she tried to ignore the pain she could feel in her stomach, her head... basically all over. She reached out to him and he immediately leaned forward; he couldn't hug her properly because she was still laying back against the raised pillows, but his hands came up to the sides of her arms and his head nestled into the crook of her neck. Her arms embraced him and she felt an overwhelming mix of emotions as she held onto him tightly, relief being the strongest of all.

Henry closed his eyes, he hadn't realised how much he missed wanting to feel her arms around him. He felt like a little kid again, running into his mother's arms after falling off of his bike or hiding from the monsters under his bed. As he breathed in he could smell her perfume, it was so familiar and it brought back so many memories. To him the scent for so long had represented home, family and comfort. Until it hadn't.

There was a shuffle of feet from the end of the bed and Regina's eyes flicked over to the other woman. The blonde was standing with her arms folded across her chest and a curious expression on her face. She looked as if she was debating on whether or not to leave and give them some time alone, but she also had a glint of something else in her eyes. Was it anger? Accusation? Emma was obviously holding something back and Regina was sure it would come up at some point. Normally she would have risen to the fight but at the moment she simply wanted to enjoy the feeling of being reunited with the son she'd thought had left her forever; the son she'd thought had hated her very existence.

After a few seconds of eyes locked on each other, both studying, Emma looked away first. Regina watched her for a few seconds more and then closed her eyes again, enjoying the warmth coming from Henry. His weight on top of her wasn't really helping her pain, but she found herself not caring.

Regina finally found her voice, albeit still a little rough. "Henry I'm so happy you're here." She whispered into her son's hair.

"Me too."

He stayed silent for a few moments. He could hear her heart beating and he felt a strange sort of comfort from the sound.

When she heard him speak again, there was a catch in his voice and what he said filled her with remorse.

"Mom I was so scared. I thought you were going to die."

She felt tears forming in her eyes at his words. If there was one thing she hadn't considered when she had taken those pills accompanied by a glass of cider, it was that her son would have to suffer. She could honestly say that she thought he would be pleased she was gone. But now knowing that he really did care... she was wracked with guilt. She had just missed him so much.

"I'm sorry," she said so quietly that if Emma hadn't been looking she wouldn't have known Regina had responded to the ten year old.

"Did you really want to die?" Henry asked after some hesitation.

"Henry," Emma finally spoke up again. "Let's not ask your mom about that. Not right now."

"Sorry," he mumbled.

Regina's eyes were closed again as she tried hard not to shed any tears. She didn't want any reason for Henry to be more upset. She rubbed his back soothingly, trying to convey to him that it was okay. She figured if she said the words out loud she would just end up a sobbing wreck.

There were footsteps heard entering the room and Regina felt Henry pull away from her to see who it was. She reluctantly let go of him as she looked up to see Dr. Whale approaching her bedside.

He smiled at Regina and Henry before addressing Emma. "Sheriff Swan, it's nice to see you again."

Emma nodded in response. "Well, it's just Emma now. I'm not the Sheriff anymore."

"Ah, of course. I'm sorry. And I'm happy to see you brought young Mr. Mills." He smiled at Henry who gave a grin of his own at being called "Mr."

Dr. Whale focused his attention on the patient, who had used the brief distraction to try to compose herself as best she could.

"And Mayor Mills, how are we feeling?" He asked in a gentler voice.

Regina looked up at him, she hated to admit that she was in pain, even if she was in the hospital.

He didn't let her silence deter him, and decided to moved on. "It's time for your medicine, I'm guessing by now you're starting to feel a bit yucky?"

Yucky... Regina repeated in her head bitterly. What was she five?

She huffed and avoided everyone's gaze.

"I thought so." Dr. Whale came to his own conclusion. "This will help." He held up a syringe before preparing it and then inserting it into her IV.

"Thank you." She said quietly.

"You're welcome Regina. And please try to get as much rest as you can. I believe Miss Blanchard informed you that I need to keep you here for a few days? You have an infection and some damage to your liver. I also need to run some more tests to be sure there are no more complications."

"A few days? She said overnight."

"Oh... Well perhaps one of the nurses may have misinformed her. I'm very sorry."

Emma grinned. "Or maybe she didn't want to take the heat for being the messenger." The blonde met Regina's disapproving stare and immediately rearranged her expression.

"Couldn't you just give me whatever medication I need and I can take it at home with me? I don't see why I have to stay here." Regina argued tiredly.

"Regina, your body has been put through a very traumatic experience." Dr. Whale said. "We need to look after you here where we have the proper resources and treatment. It won't be for long, but it will be much better for you in the long run."

Regina sighed, closing her eyes. "I just want to go home."

"I understand Regina but–"

"Mom I want you to stay here. I want you to get better." Henry said, holding onto her arm again.

Regina's eyes instantly softened as she turned to face her son. She ran a hand through his hair as she gave another sigh in defeat. How could she say no to that face?

"Okay... If that's what you want, I will Henry." She offered a small smile.

"Thank you." He gave her one of those big smiles of his, the kind he hadn't given her in far too long.

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update! I thought I would give you a slightly longer chapter since you had to wait for so long. Thank you for reading, and please review! I'd love to hear from you.